The training of young orange trees in close-spaced hedgerow plantings to allow easier picking, and use of harvesting aids such as movable scaffolds and platforms—or possible machine harvesting—is being considered and tested by many citrus growers. The two reports included here involve many aspects of the topping and hedging operations involved and the effects on trees, fruit quality, and yields. One article discusses results of experiments with both topping and hedging to prevent crowding of mature citrus trees in the Ventura area, and the other discusses yield effects from annual sidewall trimming of trees in an Orange County plot. These are progress reports of continuing research by both Experimental Station and Extension Service researchers toward cost reduction and eventual mechanization in citrus harvesting.

R. G. Platt, Extension Subtropical Horticulturist, U.C., Riverside, assisted with these trials. Trees were supplied by the Santa Ana Valley Irrigation District. Rudy Herman and Henry Bosch, managers of the Olive Heights Citrus Association, supplied the pack-out information.